“You’re kidding?”
“About her disliking you? No. I think she really hates you. Why else would she fuck me like that knowing I came here to see you.”
“No, you jackass. You just fucked some other girl because I wasn’t here. What if I was in an accident? Or hurt?”
“I sent you a dozen texts. You ignored them. I had no choice but to believe you’d backed out.” He held my gaze, daring me to lie. I didn’t have the energy to do it. “Well, as far as I’m concerned, our deal is over. To be honest, I think if I get Ruthie to hang a cross around her neck, she’d pass Father’s specifications.”
“You’re ending our deal? And replacing me with…her?”
He laughed. “She’s sneaky, did you know that? She told me everything while we were in bed. How she’s been spying on you for your dad and he’s been paying her off.” He made a face. “I wonder if my dad gave him that tip.”
“She what?” I couldn’t keep up. All of it was coming so fast, but little things flashed in my head. The expensive clothes, the new high-tech watch, the sleek nails and her constant presence. I turned around and flung open the door. She stood on the other side smiling wickedly. “You’ve been spying on me?”
She lifted her tiny shoulders. “Your daddy is very curious about your activities, Heaven. It’s a little weird. He wanted all the details about you and those guys you’re so possessive of.”
Samantha sat on the couch watching the whole thing. I looked at her. “Were you in on this, too?”
“No.” She held up her hands. “I promise.”
“Basically,” Ruthie said, “you’re a lying whore and your father knew all along that you’d ruin his plans. He just wanted a heads up before shit hit the fan.”
“That’s not true.”
“Yes, sweetie, it is. He knows about the guys, the games, the sneaking around. He knew before he contacted me but he wanted proof. Said we should go ahead and find a new roommate, that he’d have you back home by the end of the semester.”
My heart thundered in my chest. The house of cards I’d built around me shuddered at my feet. My father knew who I really was. He knew about the sinful life I led. I’d let Noah kiss me, touch me, for no reason at all. I’d pushed Oliver and Hayden away. Anderson and Jackson were next. The life my mother banked on was going to crumble and it was my fault. All my fault.
“You’re pathetic,” I told her, then looked over her shoulder. “And you’re a fucking creep.”
Ruthie rolled her eyes. “You’re nothing but trash—a filthy whore with a shady past trying to play off like you’re a good girl.” Her lips twisted into something evil and I didn’t know if this was just her way of getting back at me for having the Allendale boys, but her words cut anyway. “Go home, Heaven. Beg for forgiveness. Because you’re going to need it.”
For the first time in ages, I had no one to turn to. Not my boys. Not my mom. Definitely not my father.
Ruthie was right, the only thing I could do was repent. Beg for forgiveness. I didn’t know where to start, but I knew it wasn’t here.
I left Ruthie and Noah in her room and walked across the suite, entering my room. Amber wasn’t home—she never was anymore—having found the freedom she craved in college. I saw her car keys hanging over her desk and snatched them off the hook.
“Where are you going?” Samantha asked. “Are you sure you should driving like this? You’re really upset. I don’t blame you.”
“I can’t stay here.” This wasn’t my home. I didn’t fit in. Would I ever?
“Do you want me to call Oliver? Or Jackson? I know they’d come.”
“No.” I walked back into the common area. “They can’t know about this.”
“Heaven,” she said, “You didn’t do anything wrong. They won’t be mad.”
I stopped and faced her. “I did so many things wrong. So many things. I let Noah use me. I lied to the guys. I pushed them away. My dad…he’s going to be so disappointed. You don’t know who I really am.”
“I know you’re kind. And funny. And a good friend.”
“That’s nice of you to say. Thank you.”
I didn’t wait for more. I didn’t want to hear more. I just left, taking the stairs and walking out of the building I’d called home for the past few months for the last time.
27
Jackson